7:30 Samoto-kan. We started the day with yoga and ballet thanks to Kaori-san. Arigatou!!

8:25 Seto, Aichi-ken. Sun streaming through our windows. We leave our room in Samoto-kan. I remember Samoto-kan from my stay last summer. Ojiisan and Obaasan are as warm and friendly as ever. They remember our group from the previous summer. We’re excited! We’re meeting a new person who’ll be joining us for 3 days: Manami-san!!

10:30 Nagoya Castle. I don’t know about you but the moat is impressive!! There’s nothing like a trip to a castle to bring out the royalty in me. Haha!
A quick plug! There’s a project to have a quilt of individual dreams lain on top Fujisan. Isn’t this spectacular?

12:15 We get on Tokaido road and find ourselves in Kameyama. Our van fits snugly into the narrow streets and we find the treasure that is Masaru-san’s Tsuki no Niwa. It’s a haven for organic food lovers and vegetarians. The meal is absolutely wonderful! I specially enjoyed the salad of alfalfa, peppers, all held together by mochi and the mayo-like sauce covering steamed broccoli and carrots which I suspect was made from soybeans. The spring roll filled with grains was slightly salted on the outside and as one bit into it, the outer shell cracked to reveal the textured beans and grains inside. Even for rice we had a choice of multi-grain or brown unpolished rice. Yum yum yum!!

I grew up with a very health-conscious mom and I specially appreciate how restaurants try to educate their patrons on how to care for their bodies. Okadama Masaru-san does more than that. He himself shares his personal experience of battling with cancer, living with native American Indians for 3 months, traveling to Europe, debuting as a dancer at age 44, and cultivating a love for music.

16:10 Okageyokocho. I’m back!! I was here two weeks ago and I’m back for akafuju! A serving of 3 pieces is 280yen. Yum yum yum!! It’s a marble of a mochi covered in sweet red bean paste. What’s so nice about Okageyokocho is that its tea houses which serve various desserts and sweets exude so much charm. Stepping into Okageyokocho brings me into a totally different world. IT7s a world where the slow life is IT!!

17:10 Ise Shrine. Everything about this place screams grand and majestic, BUT BUT BUT it is subdued grandeur. Crossing the magnificent bridge, traipsing into the tree lined pathways, you realize that you’re stepped into something special, you feel almost a bit too small, and a bit too insignificant for such a place. The upside is that all your troubles seem so insignificant as well. Nature is so grand —how can you ever think your troubles are IT? This is perhaps the most visited shrine, attracting 6.5miliion pilgrims a year.

18:00 Ise Udon. Perhaps like love, it’s even better the second time around. A hefty bowl of Ise Udon ?this time not on Okageyokocho but off one of the main roads ?was just what the pilgrims??palate needed. It’s a just reward. Kitsume Ise Udon has fried tofu strips. Tskukimi Ise Udon has a raw egg on it. Oroshi has finely grated daikon, ao negi and kamaboko, and finally, my personal favorite, Tamago Ise Udon has bits of egg cooked like wet omelet sticking to the noodles. What makes the sticky egg work is that the Ise Udon is very very soft so they end up with the same texture. The sauce is brown and thick. Thicker than any other udon soup and is slightly sweet. Definitely a must try!